Former Coach Terry Bowden Talks College Football Week 5 Slate

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00:00He's down in Monroe, Louisiana.

00:08I mean, they make it real down there, spicy and hot.

00:11Terry Bowden, the legendary coach.

00:13You can follow him on X at the Bowden Blitz, and you can also see him here on Coast to

00:18Coast every Friday.

00:19Thank God for that.

00:20We've been blessed.

00:21Coach, good to see you.

00:22I'm excited about the Canes tonight at Hard Rock in Miami Gardens.

00:27It is everything to me.

00:29I know you got a guy coaching there, one of your boys, from back in the day.

00:34It's going to be a good game.

00:35They're laying a big piece, 17-and-a-half.

00:37It was 19-and-a-half.

00:39I'm on the Canes.

00:41Their offense has been unbelievable, ward every week, four times, over 400 yards, three

00:46tutties last week.

00:47He's been in complete command.

00:49It's like he's running the team, not even Mario.

00:51I think that Canes have looked fabulous.

00:54And this VodTech team, what do you expect out of them on the road in South Florida?

00:59Well, you know, yes, they're going to win.

01:00The question is, are they going to cover?

01:03And to be honest with you, it's not just their offense.

01:05And Cam Ward is everything.

01:06He's the leading Heisman candidate.

01:08But you got to look at that defense.

01:09They're sensational.

01:10A top-10 defense, the best pass-rushing defense in the country.

01:15And it's almost impossible for a team like Virginia Tech, who have struggled in the

01:19last couple of games, they've lost a couple of games, to be able to do anything

01:23offensively, which you must do to try to keep up with Miami's offense.

01:28You know, you and I talked about it.

01:29I just have to have you say it on air, how, you know, honestly, they have screwed up so

01:37many great rivalries in college football.

01:39And I mean, just endless.

01:40I can start with the Canes and Notre Dame.

01:43You know, they might play them once every 10 years now, and that's pathetic.

01:47Michigan, Notre Dame, pathetic.

01:48And I'm not just talking about Notre Dame here.

01:51Pitt, Penn State, they screwed that up.

01:55They have, you know, I'm surprised that they even have the Red River anymore.

01:59I really am.

02:00I know they both went to, you know, the SEC, but you'd figure they'd screw that up too.

02:05They screwed up the Big 12.

02:07When it was the Big 8, they screwed it up.

02:09And then, you know, I just think they've done a bad job with what fans live for in

02:15college football are those moments, those games, those rivalries.

02:19Like the backyard brawl this year was fantastic.

02:22Absolutely.

02:23Absolutely.

02:24Well, it's the big difference historically between the NFL and college football.

02:28College football, because there's 136 teams, and

02:31you play within your conference mostly, it's a regional sport.

02:35I didn't pay attention to the West Coast that much in a lot of times, or

02:38sometimes even to the Big 10.

02:40But when you had these big games, Miami and Notre Dame, you know, or

02:44Michigan and Notre Dame, or Southern Cal and Notre Dame, or even Texas and

02:48Oklahoma, these games meant something to everybody in the country.

02:52When you watch TV, people that weren't even interested in those two teams

02:55knew these were the big games that represent college football.

02:59And I've always wanted the great teams to bleep, to play well, not bad.

03:03You know, when Miami had that bad streak going, it didn't help college football.

03:06It hurt college football.

03:07When they're tops like they are right now, they can hang on, and

03:11they're playing teams like a Notre Dame when they can, that enhances college

03:15football, it makes it more attractive to everybody in the country.

03:19Well, this game tomorrow in Tuscaloosa, I was talking to Chris Stewart yesterday

03:24about it, and the shoes he filled, and Eli Gold at Alabama calling the games for

03:29the Tide, Tide and Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny.

03:33I mean, that is, it's better than sacks.

03:35I mean, it really is.

03:36It's Saturday, it's a done deal for me.

03:37Friday nights, Canes, done deal.

03:39Saturday, Dogs, Tide, done deal.

03:42I will do nothing with my wife.

03:44I will do nothing with family.

03:46I will do nothing with anyone.

03:47I won't even answer the phone.

03:49I got too much action going on this game.

03:51Now that's a rivalry.

03:53It really is.

03:53And Tony, you mentioned Eli Gold.

03:55I played for Alabama five times in the Iron Bowl in Birmingham, and

03:59I enjoyed listening to Eli Gold as much as anything else in those games.

04:02But this is a classic football game where, first of all, Georgia,

04:06a lot of people are putting their money on Alabama.

04:07Georgia is favored even in Tuscaloosa.

04:11It's an incredible game.

04:12Georgia has won 42 straight regular season games.

04:15Alabama's been playing pretty dang good also.

04:18And Georgia has not been explosive.

04:20Everybody's worried, can they score enough?

04:23I don't think either team has played enough big-time teams.

04:26This puts two great teams together against each other.

04:29I think it will bring out the best of each team.

04:32How do you think Louisville will do at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend?

04:35It's not quite fall foliage yet in South Bend.

04:38There is nothing like when the leaves have all fallen in the parking lot in

04:43South Bend, and the smell of bratwurst, and the sound of the Fighting Irish Band

04:47marching through campus, and a good beer buzz on a Saturday.

04:51And that all together is just fantastic.

04:56And that's what you see when you play at Notre Dame.

04:58No, not a better place to go coach or play in a football game than in South Bend.

05:03And this will be a great game with Louisville.

05:05But you know what, I think the most undervalued team in the country,

05:09definitely in the ACC, is Louisville.

05:11They've got a great team.

05:12They won the, they played for the Conference Championship last year.

05:15And they did a great job as a team.

05:17They've got a quarterback, Chuck, that nobody gives enough credit for.

05:20If he was playing for a high-named team, he'd probably be in the Heisman

05:24considerations.

05:25And then Jeff Braum is one of the best coaches in the country.

05:28They beat Notre Dame up there last year.

05:30Notre Dame had five turnovers.

05:32Louisville had just one.

05:33Notre Dame's going to have to be able to not turn the ball over this year.

05:37Their quarterback's got to be able to maybe throw a little bit more,

05:39not just run.

05:41And Louisville is, or Louisville, I think, can win this game.

05:44Do you think K-State rebounds after that performance against BYU?

05:49I mean, honestly, they looked fantastic in Provo, defensively scoop and score,

05:5599-yard punt return for a tutty from one side of the field to the next.

05:59How will K-State respond in Little Manhattan against Oklahoma State,

06:04who also lost last week?

06:07Yeah, I really, I think K-State responds and wins the football game.

06:10You know, K-State was winning 6-3 with two minutes left in the half.

06:14They give up 14 quick points on mistakes and go down.

06:17Now they go down to 17-6 at halftime.

06:20Then they have a turnover and they immediately give up another touchdown

06:23and the game's over, 24-6 going into the third quarter.

06:26And it's pretty much over in the mat in three minutes.

06:30And I really think this is a better team.

06:32Avery Johnson, I think, is the quarterback that can lead them.

06:34Oklahoma State has struggled.

06:36Arkansas, they struggled in other games.

06:38And I do believe that, you know, one of these two teams will probably play Utah

06:42for the conference championship.

06:43One of these two teams.

06:44I just think it's going to be Kansas State a little bit edge over Oklahoma State.

06:49How do you think Ohio State will do in East Lansing at Spartan Stadium?

06:53I don't think that's a problem for them.

06:54I don't really believe in that team in green.

06:58No. Pick your score.

06:59Pick your score.

07:00That's the whole issue here.

07:01I've been waiting so much for Ohio State to play somebody.

07:05Now, their non-conference schedule's early, so they can't really control that,

07:09that they haven't played a lot of people.

07:11But they've been so dominant.

07:14And Michigan State has played not that well.

07:16They've struggled in what they've done so far.

07:19So I think the only question is, can they cover at Ohio State?

07:22And I probably think they can.

07:24But they've got a great quarterback, Will Howard.

07:26They've got two running backs.

07:27They're phenomenal.

07:28They've got maybe two of the best receivers in the country.

07:31And the defense is top three in the nation.

07:34It's a great football team.

07:35$20 million worth of NIL.

07:37You've got to feel like they've got football players.

07:40I just want to see them play against a great team.

07:42But that's not this week yet.

07:44So I'm going to jump this Utah game.

07:47They're playing at Rice-Eccles.

07:49I think they'll beat Arizona.

07:50I want to ask you, I got, respectfully, just under 90 seconds.

07:54Your thoughts on, not the NIL, but I'm going to jump that and go Pac-12.

07:59Can you imagine being the guy or the woman in charge of that conference,

08:03trying to rebuild that mess, which I think

08:06is disgusting, what happened to a great football conference,

08:08a great basketball conference?

08:10They've ruined that, too, let alone rivalries.

08:13With the Pac-12 being destroyed, can they rebuild it with this equity

08:17that they're getting from these new schools that are joining?

08:20Is it savable, Coach?

08:22Well, I don't think it is in the way we think of the Pac-12, in my mind.

08:26They're added six teams from the Mountain West,

08:28supposed to start a conference schedule by 2026.

08:31The question to me is, I don't think they can be a Pac-12.

08:34The question is, are they more like a G5 conference,

08:37or are they like a Power Five conference?

08:39And I think that's going to be debatable, because there's only so

08:42many quality teams left in any parts of the country to form a conference.

08:46And so I'm just not sure they can be a strong Power Five, old Pac-12 type team,

08:51as we're seeing with the teams that are coming in.

08:54Yeah, I got to tell you, when you were coaching,

08:56you had to worry about kids going to class and staying on the football field

09:04and giving guys full rights.

09:06Now you've got to pay everybody, and no one goes to class.

09:09No one graduates.

09:11There's no such thing as school.

09:12Thank God we got college football, though,

09:14because I like it better than pro football,

09:16even though I go to a lot of pro football games.

09:18College football's where it's at.

09:19We love you, coach.

09:20Have a good weekend.

09:20Enjoy the games.

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